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Sir,

Please allow me to appreciate the good work done by the Swaziland Building Society (SBS) in making sure that the poor, the vulnerable and the marginalised do not only get food, but also earn a living.

The society has displayed true empowerment through its Corporate Social Initiative (CSI) by ‘teaching people how to fish as opposed to giving them fish to eat’.

Gratitude

I read with gratitude on how SBS has capacitated children of Ekwetsembeni Special School with capital to start a hatchery project, which has grown in leaps and bounds as the school supplied eggs to reputable retail outlets.

The children are also provided with material to sharpen their craft of making jewellery and manufacture soap, floor polish and a fabric softener for commercial purposes. It is not every day that corporate organisations will entrust children with disabilities with huge projects.

Donations

More often than not, such children are pampered with donations such as food parcels, clothes and other perishables.

I applaud the society for seeing talent other people did not see in marginalised children whose capabilities are overlooked due to their mental and physical challenges. It is through such initiatives that children will grow up to become entrepreneurs and independent men and women, who are able to start their own businesses and sustain their families.

The society is also supporting the Salvation Army, among other entities, by providing food for elderly people who often go to bed on empty stomachs.

The one meal per week may seem small but it goes a long way for people who have no means to provide for themselves.

I wish other companies can take leaf from SBS and focus on the most vulnerable members of the society so that we can all become capable of making a meaningful contribution towards the country’s economy.

Your loyal reader

Sir,

The inequalities between our public schools and so-called model C schools persist. Reading, writing and learning seems to be a dying culture in most Eswatini schools and homes. While some might argue that comparing the ‘successful’ exam results to the current decline in literacy levels at primary school level is irrelevant, we cannot ignore that those who are doing Grade IV today will be writing their final exams in a few years. If the habit of reading is not inculcated at a young age, then it might go on to become a stubborn setback in adulthood.

This poses a major risk in the overall development of a young adult and it might threaten their potential to lead a successful professional life. The crisis of poor reading habits among our children is an existential predicament.

Education is a social function that grows out of the seeds of a community context. Parents, teachers, organisations, learners, the media, leaders and community members have the power to determine what should be the core mission of their schools. They are the ones who are able to initiate the necessary connections between the school and its value towards the development of its community.

In other words, unless the community begins to see schools as sites of personal development, articulation of skills, cultivation of cultural and family values, and the enabling of curiosity and critical thinking habits then nothing will be done to hold schools accountable for what they teach children. In addition, if homes themselves are not conducive environments for non-formal learning then the efforts of the schools are handicapped.

As a result, children in these communities are required to be extra resilient to overcome a society that was designed to fail them. Because this is where most of our learners are, we stand at a high risk as a country of finding ourselves trapped in a future that doesn’t have critical and empowered citizens. We must urgently begin doing the work necessary to overcome these structural challenges.

Oyisa Sondlo